Andrew Walter said he is excited about making his first NFL start. You'll have to take his spoken word for it, of course, because his body language has a stuck mute button.

When speaking, his lips remain flat-lined, his voice plays one chord, his eyes and matching eyebrows don't budge.

Start at quarterback for the Raiders. Check out a library book. No difference.

"Trying to be myself," Walter said. "That's kind of me, trying not to get too up or down like a roller coaster."

Walter will start next Sunday against the Browns at the Coliseum -- the Raiders have a bye this week. He's filling in for Aaron Brooks, who is out two to four weeks with a strained pectoral muscle near his throwing arm.

This is a temp job, Walter said. Nothing to get worked up about because once Brooks is healthy, it's back to support-group status.

Let's say Walter goes out and carves pumpkin holes into the Browns, then does the same against the 49ers. What if Walter -- gasp -- leads the Raiders to their first touchdown since New Year's Eve, then keeps the six-pointers coming?

Imagine a scenario where he straps the 0-2 Raiders to his ripping right arm and carries them back to the .500 mark, a line of mediocrity they haven't frequented since October 2004.

The Raiders are going to have themselves a full-fledged quarterback controversy, that's what.

"The biggest thing is getting the offense going in the right direction," Walter said. "So, if it's me, it's me. If it's Aaron, it's Aaron. It really doesn't matter, just as long as someone's doing it and making plays to help us win."

He's doing it again, acting like the difference between starting and clipboarding are subtle.

"I'm a pretty relaxed guy," Walter said. "I try to take things in stride and not get too up or down."

Walter is the Raiders' quarterback of tomorrow. If that wasn't known when the Raiders drafted him in the third round last year, it became crystal clear when they didn't bother to draft Hollywood star Matt Leinart or trade up to grab Vince Young in April's draft.

They did, however, sign eight-year veteran Brooks to a two-year contract in March, which says they didn't think Walter was ready for 16-start duty.

Well, ready or not, here Walter comes.

"He's been preparing himself very well for the moment," Brooks said. "I told him to keep doing what he's doing, just hang in there. You know, take it and run with it. That's how I got on the field."

Brooks almost sounded a little worried. In 2000, he was a second-year player with the Saints, backing up veteran Jeff Blake. In Week 10 against the Raiders, Blake was injured, Brooks came in; he started the next 69 games.

Now it's Walter who is the second-year player, Brooks is the hurt veteran, and fans can have fun with that one for a while.

"Whatever happens, I just want to play good and give our team a chance to win," Walter said.

Walter will need to play exceedingly better than his first two showings. He has completed 12 of 32 passes for 190 yards -- a 37.5 percent completion rate -- with three interceptions and eight sacks. He called his performance "unacceptable," though it put him in danger of showing discernable emotion.

The Raiders want something more along the lines of his Saturdays at Arizona State. Walter broke the Pac-10 record for touchdowns set by John Elway, and established most of the school's passing records as a four-year starter.

"He's played in major football, playing at Arizona State," Shell said. "It's not like coming from a small school like Maryland-Eastern Shore. This, of course, is the biggest stage there is, and he'll have to adjust."

This much is sure: If Walter doesn't at least force the Raiders to think hard about benching him again, that means his brief stint as a starter went terribly wrong, and nothing good can come of that.